Higher classification Lobelias | Subfamily Lobelioideae Rank Species | |
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Similar Lobelias, Lobelia siphilitica, Lobelia cardinalis, Campanulaceae, Lobelioideae | ||
Plant portrait indian tobacco lobelia inflata
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco, puke weed) is a species of Lobelia native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada (Nova Scotia to southeast Ontario) south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west to Kansas.
Contents
- Plant portrait indian tobacco lobelia inflata
- Lobelia inflata identification
- Growth
- Propagation
- Traditional uses
- Chemical constituents
- References
Lobelia inflata identification
Growth
Lobelia inflata is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant growing to 15–100 cm (5.9–39.4 in) tall, with stems covered in tiny hairs. Its leaves are usually about 8 cm (3.1 in) long, and are ovate and toothed. It has violet flowers that are tinted yellow on the inside, and usually appear in mid-summer and continue to bloom into fall.
Propagation
Propagation is usually accomplished by cuttings or seed. Seeds are sown in containers in mid spring or mid fall. The seeds take about 2 weeks to germinate.
Traditional uses
Lobelia inflata has a long use as a medicinal plant, as an entheogenic, emetic, and a dermatological and respiratory aid. Native Americans used it to treat respiratory and muscle disorders, as a purgative, and as a ceremonial medicine. The plant was used as a traditional medicinal plant by the Cherokee, Iroquois, Penobscot, and other indigenous peoples. The foliage was burned by the Cherokee as a natural insecticide, to smoke out gnats. It was widely used in the pre-Columbian New England region, long before the time of Samuel Thomson, who was erroneously credited as discovering it.
It is still used medicinally in the present day, however there are adverse effects that limit its use. Side effects can include sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, rapid heartbeat, mental confusion, convulsions, hypothermia, coma, and possibly death.
Chemical constituents
L. inflata has been shown to contain 52 different alkaloid compounds, the most studied and medically pertinent being lobeline.